June 08, 2013

Boredom, and Being Bored

This picture so reminds me of being forced to do homework I hated, and
my mind flying away to storybook lands, or being in school and listening
to the teacher drone on and on, and me daydreaming about what I really
wanted to do at that hour, hang with friends, get the scoop on the
latest guy I liked, or go out and play baseball, or touch football (with
the latest guy I liked).

I think boredom, for me, has a lot to do with how I pay attention, my high energy level, and what holds myinterest;
what excites me. I have a friend who is a low energy kinda gal, Ms.
Relaxed. Ms Relaxed could find enjoyment in watching a butterfly land on
a flower, like an afternoon of butterflies landing on flowers. Really.
To Rita Lakin’s statement:"All the books and plays I want to write. I'd have to live three life time to do all the things I have to do," Ms
Relaxed would just shrug. One life is enough for her, and she can manage
to fit everything into it with time to spare to watch the butterflies.

Does she get bored? NO. Do I? YES. I have lots of energy and I devote it
to my creative projects. When I have to write a bio, like Hannah Jayne,
or listen to another lecture on character development, POV, and how to
get an agent, I cringe. Out of politeness, I listen. But then I get
bored and turn off. I can no longer concentrate on the words, which
leads me to turn off to the subject. Back to the storyland I created in
my youth, with adult sensibilities of course. (Will no longer ponder
whether or not my friends and I are going to stop at the local burger
joint on the way home from school and chip in all our dimes for fries.)
What happens to you when you get bored?

The problem with boredom is that it can sometimes lead me to dislike
what I became bored about. Like Susan Shae, lumbering plots and dead
prose makes me close a book. Like Carole Price, old business meetings
and having to write "what are my goals?" bore me to tears.

I can now understand Carole's boredom and restless thing going hand and
hand. After all, Michael Black brought up how Elvis Presley shot a hole
in his TV sets when he was bored, a psychological example of acting out
over the loss of control of a situation-- like waiting forever to get
on stage, or waiting in long lines for army chow.

Now that this boredom topic has enlivened me, you know what really
bores me? Facebook, and when people write bullshit to get their names
out there. Name recognition at its worst. Do you actually care that I
had oatmeal for dinner (with two egg whites and maple syrup)? I hope
not. But then again, do you know what does captivate me? Facebook, and
when people share horrible experiences, and others are there to comfort
them ... like the posts about the tornado and flood that ravaged
Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City. Then I'm touched, moved by how we help
each other, and transfixed to each kind word of support.

What do I do when I'm really bored? For me, it's wandering off in my
mind to a fun experience, like swimming with the dolphins in Hawaii, or
listening to music, or writing.

Comments

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Hmmm. I don't have time to be bored these days. But if I do manage to find a little quiet time, I like to take a walk, wander to my favorite coffee stop (Peet's) with a book, and read for a while.
Those times don't happen often enough, though.

And I love how you wove all the week's posts together in a Saturday musing. Nicely done, Patricia! :-)